Baikonur Cosmodrome from space! If you look closely, you can see the Soyuz launch pad. The same pad that launched ‘Sputnik’ and Yuri Gagarin…and the pad we launched from nearly a month ago! So surreal flying over at 5 miles per second!
In accordance with the program of the International Space Station mission ballistics support, ISS reboost took place on July 16.The maneuver was assisted by the attitude thrusters of Russian cargo vehicle Progress M-06M. The engines were started at 11:42:30 Moscow time, following the commands from the ISS RS central computer. The operation lasted 1065 sec.As a result of the maneuver, the altitude of the ISS will become 3.7 km higher (355,2km) in order to provide favorable conditions for Soyuz TMA-18 landing and Progress M-07M docking.
Mice, hamsters and rats will settle in the International Space Station after 2012. IBMP official told Interfax-AVN. The rodents will live in new Russian Multipurpose Laboratory Module to be launched in two years from now.MLM will host special support systems for the rodents. So, the experiments with small animals started in Mir will be continued in the ISS.The rodent support systems are rather complicated as they are aimed to protect the crew against scent, harmful impurities and substances of the animals.IBMP confirms that small animals will also maintain psychological comfort for the crew.Multipurpose Laboratory Module will be a component of the International Space Station funded by the Russian Federal Space Agency and will be the last piece of the Space Station. Currently the MLM is scheduled to dock at the Zvezda nadir location. The MLM will be used for experiments, docking and cargo. It will also serve as a crew work and rest area. MLM will also be equipped with an attitude control system that can be used as a backup by the ISS.
"Roscosmos PAO: "Mice, Rats and Hamsters will Settle in the ISS"."I'm not joking -- how much has been prepared in the event of escape of one or more of these critters? What would it take to include a light-weight live-trap (with food as bait) in up-cargo, just in case. Consider what ELSE hungry rodents behind the panels might be chewing on. I live in a rural area of Galveston County, Texas, and it's a constant struggle to keep toothy intruders away from the interior of my home, and the wires in it.
Dextre, an agile, two-armed extension for the station's Canadarm2 robotic arm, continues its debut task to replace a failed Remote Power Control Module (RPCM) from a truss segment on the station's port side. On Tuesday flight controllers in Houston began conducting a "dress rehearsal" of the actual replacement as they commanded Dextre to partially remove and reinstall an RPCM on the P1 truss. After Dextre successfully completes the test, Mission Control plans to swap the failed RPCM with a spare from the P3 truss Wednesday.
An update from NASA's ISS page:QuoteDextre, an agile, two-armed extension for the station's Canadarm2 robotic arm, continues its debut task to replace a failed Remote Power Control Module (RPCM) from a truss segment on the station's port side. On Tuesday flight controllers in Houston began conducting a "dress rehearsal" of the actual replacement as they commanded Dextre to partially remove and reinstall an RPCM on the P1 truss. After Dextre successfully completes the test, Mission Control plans to swap the failed RPCM with a spare from the P3 truss Wednesday.